« Return to News | R&D Trends

UCSD enrolling in new arm of Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 12:26 PM

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine will be one of 23 official clinical sites of the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative's (PPMI) new arm to study at-risk populations for Parkinson's disease (PD). The $55 million landmark observational clinical study launched in 2010 to define one or more biomarkers of PD and now seeks to better understand potential risk factors of the disease. The university has been a part of PPMI for three years and currently is enrolling for the new, pre-motor arm of the study.

The pre-motor arm of PPMI will enroll participants who do not have Parkinson's disease and are living with one of three potential risk factors for PD: a reduced sense of smell (hyposmia), rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) or a mutation in the LRRK2 gene (the single greatest genetic contributor to PD known to date).

"Understanding risk factors for Parkinson's disease could help to identify therapies that may prevent the onset of motor symptoms in future generations of PD patients," said Douglas Galasko, M.D., the principal investigator for the study at the UCSD School of Medicine.

"In the third year of PPMI, it is evident that a large-scale biomarker study is not only possible in Parkinson's disease, but is already yielding scientific insights that could help transform the field of Parkinson's research," said Todd Sherer, Ph.D., chief executive officer of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "None of this progress would be possible without the willing volunteers who donate their time and energy to the pursuit of a cure."

Share:          
CLINICAL TRIAL RESOURCES

Search:

NEWS ONLINE ARCHIVE

Browse by:

CWWeekly

September 30

Novartis-Walgreens pilot study blurring the line between retail pharmacy, investigative site

CISCRP to launch traveling science museum exhibit to demystify clinical trial participation

Already a subscriber?
Log in to your digital subscription.

Subscribe to CWWeekly.

The CenterWatch Monthly

October

New growth and decline in Asia clinical trials
South Korea, Japan, China see big growth in 1572s, while India posts huge drop

Harnessing Big Data to transform clinical trials
From protocol to patient recruiting, data analytics can yield valuable insights

Already a subscriber?
Log in to your digital subscription.

Purchase the October issue.

Subscribe to
The CenterWatch Monthly.

The CenterWatch Monthly

September

Sponsors look to collaborate on comparator drugs
Co-therapies, comparators are in 60% of studies, cost $25m per company a year

Early adopters implement risk-based monitoring pilot programs
Experiments aim to offer long-term solutions, despite short-term uncertainties

Already a subscriber?
Log in to your digital subscription.

Purchase the September issue.

Subscribe to
The CenterWatch Monthly.

JobWatch centerwatch.com/jobwatch

Featured Jobs

More Jobs

 

Copyright © 1995-2013 CenterWatch.